“‘You are my sheep,
The sheep
Of my pasture.
I am your God.’
Says Yahweh God!”
In a great simple statement, Yahweh proclaimed, via Ezekiel, that the Israelites were his sheep in his pasture. Yahweh was their God. Case closed, end of discussion.
his sheep
Yahweh saves his flock (Ezek 34:21-34:22)
“You pushed
With your flank.
You pushed
With your shoulder.
You butted
At all the weak animals
With your horns.
You have scattered them
Far and wide.
I will save my flock.
They shall no longer
Be ravaged.
I will judge
Between sheep
With sheep.”
Yahweh, via Ezekiel, complained about the bad sheep. They were pushing the other sheep around with their sides or flanks and their shoulders. They were butting all the weak sheep with their horns. Thus, they were scattering Yahweh’s flock of sheep. Yahweh said that his sheep would no longer be ravaged, because he was going to judge between the good and the bad sheep.
Yahweh returns them to the good pastures of Israel (Ezek 34:13-34:15)
“‘I will bring them
Out from the various people.
I will gather them
From the various countries.
I will bring them
Into their own land.
I will feed them
On the mountains
Of Israel.
They will be
By the water fountains,
In all the inhabited places
Of the country.
I will feed them
With good pasture.
The mountain heights
Of Israel
Shall be their pasture.
They shall lie down there
In good grazing land.
They shall feed
On rich pasture
On the mountains
Of Israel.
I myself
Will be the shepherd
Of my sheep.
I will make them
Lie down.’
Says Yahweh God.”
Somewhat reminiscent of Psalm 23 about the good shepherd, Yahweh, their God, said that he was going to bring all his lost sheep together from the various countries where they had been. They were going to go back to their own land. Yahweh was going to feed them on the mountains of Israel with flowing water in all the inhabited places of their country. He was going to feed them from the good pastures in the mountain heights of Israel. There they would lie down in this good grazing land. They would eat from the rich pastures on the mountains of Israel. Yahweh was going to be their shepherd, the good shepherd of his sheep. He was going to make them lie down in great green pastures.
Yahweh will search for his scattered sheep (Ezek 34:11-34:12)
“Thus says Yahweh God!
‘I myself
Will search
For my sheep.
I will
Seek them out.
As shepherds seek out
Their flocks,
When they are
Among their scattered sheep,
So will I
Seek out my sheep.
I will rescue them
From all the places
To which
They have been scattered
On a day of clouds,
On a day of thick darkness.’”
Yahweh God said, via Ezekiel, that he was himself going to search out for his scattered sheep. He was going to be like the shepherds with their flocks. Just as they went looking for their lost sheep, Yahweh was going to do the same. He was going to seek out his sheep and rescue them from all the places that they had been scattered during the cloudy days of thick darkness.
Yahweh will rescue the sheep (Ezek 34:9-34:10)
“Therefore,
You shepherds!
Hear
The word of Yahweh!
Thus says Yahweh God!
‘I am
Against the shepherds!
I will demand
My sheep
At their hand.
I will put a stop
To their feeding
Of the sheep.
No longer
Shall the shepherds
Feed themselves.
I will rescue
My sheep
From their mouths.
Thus,
These sheep
May not
Be food
For them.’”
Yahweh, via Ezekiel, was mad at the shepherds of Israel. They were to listen to the word of Yahweh. Yahweh, their God, wanted his sheep back. These shepherds or leaders of Israel were to stop eating his sheep. Yahweh was going to rescue his sheep from the mouths of these shepherds. Yahweh’s sheep would no longer be their food.
The scattered sheep (Ezek 34:5-34:6)
“The sheep
Were scattered,
Because there was
No shepherd.
Thus,
They became food
For all the wild animals.
My sheep
Were scattered.
They wandered
Over all the mountains.
They wandered
On every high hill.
My sheep
Were scattered
Over all the face
Of the earth.
There was no one
To search
For them.
There was no one
To seek
For them.”
Yahweh, via Ezekiel, said that his sheep were scattered, because there was no shepherd to lead them. Thus, these sheep became food for all the wild animals, perhaps an allusion to the attacks of the Assyrians and the Babylonians. The sheep of Israel and Judah were scattered, so that they wandered into the mountains and the high hills, perhaps an allusion to the high places of idol worship. His sheep were scattered all over all the face of the earth, perhaps an allusion to the captivity. Finally, there was no leader or shepherd to go out to search and look for them. They were the lost sheep of Israel.
The nothingness of humans (Sir 18:8-18:14)
“What are human beings?
What use are they?
What is good about them?
What is evil about them?
The number of days in their life is great,
If they reach one hundred years.
The death of each one
Is beyond the calculation of all.
Like a drop of water from the sea,
Like a grain of sand,
So are these few years
Among the days of eternity.
Therefore the Lord is patient with them.
He pours out his mercy upon them.
He sees them.
He recognizes
That their end is miserable.
Therefore he grants them forgiveness all the more.
The compassion of human beings
Is for their neighbors.
But the compassion of the Lord
Is for every living thing.
He rebukes them.
He trains them.
He teaches them.
He turns them back,
As a shepherd his flock.
He has compassion on those
Who accept his discipline.
He has compassion on those
Who are eager for his precepts.”
Sirach points out that human beings, in contrast to the greatness of God, are useless, like a later 20th century existential 1943 Jean Paul Sartre work, Being and Nothingness. They have a little good and little evil in them, but they have a short unpredictable life, at best 100 years long. Their lives are like a drop of water in the sea or a grain of sand on the shore compared to divine eternity. That is why the Lord is patient and merciful with them. He knows that they will come to a miserable end, so that he grants them forgiveness. While the compassion of humans is for their neighbors, the compassion of the Lord is for all living things. Like a theme later attributed to Jesus, Sirach sees the Lord as a shepherd who rebukes, trains, teaches, and takes his sheep back and forth. The Lord has compassion for those who accept his discipline and precepts.
The confidence of David (Ps 23:4-23:4)
“Even though I walk
Through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil.
You are with me.
Your rod and your staff,
They comfort me.”
David expresses complete confidence in Yahweh, his good shepherd. Even in the darkest valley, he has no fear of evil. The good shepherd is always with his sheep with a rod and staff to keep him and the rest of the sheep in line. The presence of this good shepherd comforts David and all his fellow sheep.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 